Even in a period of economic
uncertainty, many people still go
through the December dilemma of what to give for Christmas or
Chanukah. In fact December has so much gift giving that
ironically
a major problem for many in the more affluent lands is: what to
give. So
many people have so much, that additional things almost become burdens
rather
than mementos, and the gift giving becomes part of a ritual in which we
spend
money for spending's own sake rather than finding a spiritual purpose
in our
giving of gifts. One way around this problem may be through the
gift of
travel. There are numerous ways that you can give a travel gift.

Most travel agencies are more than happy to work with someone
considering
giving the gift of travel. Another and perhaps easier way to give
a
travel gift is by simply transferring air or hotel points to the person
receiving the gift. Lastly especially for locales that have their
off-season in December, encouraging people to give a gift of travel not
only
helps the gift receiver, but also serves to help the community.
Before
giving the gift of travel remember that to do the following:

Encourage businesses to give the
gift of travel through incentive
travel opportunities. Now in time of economic recession,
this
form of reward may be appreciated more than ever. Incentive
travel comes
in many forms. Businesses use incentive travel to create friendly
competition among their employees with the hope that this competition
will lead
to greater sales. An ever-growing number of individuals give the
gift of
travel to the person who has or find it a good way to use frequent
flier
miles.

Use loyalty programs as part of
the gift of travel.
Loyalty programs are another form of incentive travel in which the more
one
travels the better (at least hypothetically) the traveler is
treated.
Still another form of incentive travel is to a particular event, such
as a
sporting event or concert. In this case, it is essential to know that
the
people competing for this travel experience want to attend the concert
or
sporting event.

Incentive travel works. An American newspaper studied the gift of
travel
and found that:

93% of award recipients
prefer travel over other incentives - USA Today survey
91% of North Americans take a vacation every year - US
Travel Data Center (everyone enjoys travel)

Travel has a much higher perceived value than other incentives.

Help the people receiving the
gift of travel to get the best from
the gift by:

Making the travel gift both age
and personality
appropriate. There are those people who love cruises and those
who hate
them, there are cruises that are merely floating parties, and cruises
meant to
be photographic safaris. Each of these cruises has a different
set of
clientele. Like in any other gift, make sure that your gift is
appropriate for the
person to whom you are giving the gift.

Make the gift match the
receiver's agenda and not yours.
It does not matter what you like or think the other person ought to
like, and
make sure that your travel gift reflects the receiver's lifestyle
rather than
yours.

Help people to develop lists of
"to take" and
"not-to-take". Travel hassles may begin at the airport
but they can go far beyond airport security lines. Knowing what
to take,
what type of camera is best to have, what the shape of an electric plug
will be
and if the place to where you are traveling used 110 or 220 electrical
voltage
can be a major help and avoiding travel hassles and making travel fun.

Use the gift of travel even if
you cannot afford to pay for the
entire travel experience. Give the gift of travel as a
combined
gift or a travel gift certificate. If doing the latter, make sure
that
the recipient was going to go to this location and can afford his/her
part of
the cost. However be careful of travel certificates, many of them
come
with pre-existing conditions and a whole host of rules and regulations.
Always
know the travel certificate's details.

If considering giving a trip
outside of your country, make sure
that the person has a passport. Remember that even when
traveling by sea
or car to a foreign destination, in many places citizens need a
passport to go
from country X to country Y, If the person who is to receive the gift
does not
own a passport, consider giving a travel gift within his or her own
country.

Always allow the gift receiver
to determine which dates will work
for him/her/them and which dates will become a problem.
Remember that airlines prices can very greatly so if you give an open
ended
ticket be prepared for a great deal of price variations. This problem
is
avoided by using air miles.

Provide the person with a
listing of internet sites.
The internet provides not only information but also a way to share
travel
experiences and to create e-travel relationships. In this
manner
the gift of travel goes beyond the confines of time and space and
allows travel
to become the entranceway into a whole host of new experiences.

Make sure that the person
receiving the gift has an opportunity to
share these memories with once he/she has returned home.
Travel is more than merely seeing and doing new things. It is
also about
sharing memories and creating brilliant results by letting someone else
know
that you care.

About the Author:Dr.
Peter E. Tarlow is the President of T&M, a founder of the Texas
chapter of
TTRA and a popular author and speaker on tourism. Tarlow is a
specialist in the
areas of sociology of tourism, economic development, tourism safety and
security.
Tarlow speaks at governors' and state conferences on tourism and
conducts
seminars throughout the world and for numerous agencies and
universities.
If you know of anyone else who might enjoy "Tourism Tidbits," please
send his/her email address toptarlow@tourismandmore.com, Please
let us
know of any topic that you would like to see covered by "Tourism
Tidbits." We invite others to submit articles for consideration for
publication.

All questions about
"Tourism Tidbits", suggestions, or cancellations should be addressed
to Dr. Peter E. Tarlow atptarlow@tourismandmore.com